Sacred Heart on the Emerald Coast announces expansion

By DUSTY RICKETTS

Published: Thursday, June 5, 2014 at 11:27 AM.

“I know this community, the commitment you’ve made to this hospital and what your track record is,”
Davis
said. “I know you dearly love this hospital and I respect that. This is the community’s hospital and I know this project is going to be very, very successful.”

Hall said there was not hard deadline to raise the $7 million.

The expansion has been in the works for about four years and was presented to Ascension last year.

Hall said most of the large capital improvement projects that Ascension has approved recently have been for outpatient care services. The Sacred Heart on the
Emerald
Coast
expansion was the only capital improvement project Ascension approved for an inpatient expansion. He said the project was needed because the hospital grew by 15 percent last year.

Right now, Sacred Heart on the
Emerald
Coast
is a 58-bed facility. The number of beds to be added to the hospital is still being finalized, but Hall said it would likely be 10 to 17 additional beds.

Officials from SacredHeartHospital on the EmeraldCoast announced plans for a $30 million expansion project Tuesday.

The upcoming expansion, which is expected to start early next year, would increase capacity for inpatient, maternity, emergency and pediatric services at the WaltonCounty hospital.

“To say we’re excited is minimal,” said Roger Hall, president of SacredHeartHospital on the EmeraldCoast. “It’s a great journey.”

Construction will be completed in two phases, with the first phase completed in late 2016 and the second phase the following year.

The project was announced during a meeting of Sacred Heart staff and donors.

Ascension Health, the parent company of Sacred Heart, approved the $30 million project, with the condition that the hospital raises at least $7 million in donations to help fund the project.

Susan Davis, president and CEO of Sacred Heart Health System, said she was confident the community would come together to help fund the project.

“I know this community, the commitment you’ve made to this hospital and what your track record is,” Davis said. “I know you dearly love this hospital and I respect that. This is the community’s hospital and I know this project is going to be very, very successful.”

Hall said there was not hard deadline to raise the $7 million.

The expansion has been in the works for about four years and was presented to Ascension last year.

Hall said most of the large capital improvement projects that Ascension has approved recently have been for outpatient care services. The Sacred Heart on the EmeraldCoast expansion was the only capital improvement project Ascension approved for an inpatient expansion. He said the project was needed because the hospital grew by 15 percent last year.

Right now, Sacred Heart on the EmeraldCoast is a 58-bed facility. The number of beds to be added to the hospital is still being finalized, but Hall said it would likely be 10 to 17 additional beds.